Adjustable nozzle extension for arc welding heads



March 17, 1942.

V. J.- CHAPMAN ADJUSTABLE NOZZLE EXTENSION FOR ARC WELDING HEADS Filed Oct. 16, 1941 F-gz. 40

Fig. l.

inventor: Verni Jv Chaprnaufi by W 2. 2W

His Attorney.

' Patented Mar. 17, 1942 UNITED STATE ADJUSTABLE NOZZLE EXTENSIQN FOR ARC WELDING HEADS Veml J. Chapman, Schenectady, N. Y., assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Application October 16, 1941, Serial No. 415,227

6 Claims.

My invention relates to arc welding apparatus and more particularly to an adjustable nozzle extension for arc welding heads.

To eccommodete various sizes of work it is trode nozzle relatively to the arc welding heed employed for feeding the electrode.

Arrehgements hove heretofore been proposed in which the electrode fed by on ere welding need is supplied through s flexible conduit to the electrode nozzle so thot the electrode nozzle may be adjusted relatively to the arc welding heed to locate the ercing terminal of the electrode in desired position without requiring o. relocation of the welding heed. Adjustments of such orrengements however result in e buckling or folding of the flexible conduit which greotly intpedes the passage of an electrode therethrough so that the electrode feeding moons of the welding heed is overloaded or slippzge occurs between the electrode and its feeding moons cousing faulty operation of the welding heed.

It is an object of my invention to provide for arc welding heads an adjustable nozzle exten sion whose effective length may be changed with out causing the electrode to buclile in its possess from the electrode feeding mesns of the welding iii heed to the nozzle which positions its arcing tenninel relstively to the work.

it is also an object oi my invention to provide for arc welding heads an adjustable nozzle en tension which may be employed to direct the electrode laterally of its electrode feeding means for reaching points of welding which otherwise might be inoccessible without odjusting the position of the welding head.

It is e further object of my invention to provide on arc welding head embodying such on adjustable nozzle extension.

Further objects of my invention will become apparent from a. consideration of the embodiments thereof illustrated in the accompanying drawing.

In this drawing Fig. 1 is a front view of on automatic arc welding head embodying my adjustable nozzle extension, Fig. 2 is a corresponding view of the nozzle extension illustrating an adjustment of parts for decreasing its effective length, and Fig. 3 is a. plan view of the nozzle extension illustrating its adjustment for directlog an electrode laterally of the electrode feeding means of the welding heed.

The adjustable nozzle extension illustrated in the accompanying drawing comprises a rod mounted for lengthwise and. rotary movement relative to the electrode feeding means of e. welding heed so that an electrode nozzle sit-=- teched to one end thereof may be adjusted toword, away from, and laterally of the electrode feeding means. One or more electrode guides spaced from one smother, the electrode nozzle, and the electrode feeding means are mounted for movement eround and along this rod. These electrode guides may be releesebly clamped to the rod for any desired spacing or angular position reletive to one enother, end the rod may be releossbly clomped in or support attached to the welding heed to secure or desired spacing or loterel displacement of the electrode nozzle from the electrode feeding moons.

As shown in Fig. l of the drawing the e.d justeble nozzle extension comprises o. cylindrical rod it mounted for lengthwise and rotary move ment in a. support it which is attached to the welding heed it by fastening means such as bolts Preferably support it is electrically insulated from the welding heed and bolts it by c. fiber strip it and insulating bushings and washers not shown. The washers l5 shown in the drew-trig ere metallic washers interposed between the bolt hoods and the sssembly completed by these bolts. I

The welding heed illustrated in the drewing hes the construction described and claimed in United States Letters Patent 2,170,673 of Jasper E. Anderson, granted August 22, 1939 and es signed to the assignee of my present invention. In this welding heed the electrode feeding means comprises rolls it which engsge and feed a welding electrode ll through guides ill and 59 form ing port of the welding heed. The support 6 l for rod id is mounted on a welding heed boss'which also serves as a support for guide it. The welding head as a unit is supported on an arm 2t having 9. flanged portion ill for attachment to a. member of the machine structure of which it forms a port.

Electrode ii, is fed through one or more guiding means 22 which are spaced from one another, the feeding means it and an electrode nozzle 23 along rod Hi. This electrode nozzle may be of any suitable type and is employed for positioning the arcing terminal of the electrode and supplying welding current thereto. As shown in the drawing it has the construction described and claimed in my United States Letters Patent 1,959,194 granted May 15, 1934 and assigned to the assignee of my present invention.

Nozzle 23 is held between the jaws of an arm 24 by means of a bolt 25. This arm is attached to the lower end of rod l and is of sufficient length to position the electrode passageway through nozzle 23 in registry with the electrode passageway in guide IQ of the welding head when the parts are assembled as illustrated in Fig. 1. The electrode passageways in guides 22 are also aligned with the passageways through guide I9 and nozzle 23.

As previously pointed out rod 10 is mounted for lengthwise movement in its support II. It may be releasabiy clamped in this support by a screw 26 to secure a desired positioning of nozzle 23 relative to the welding head or electrode feeding means thereof. Electrode guides 22 are slidably and rotatably mounted on rod i0 and are held in adjusted positions thereon by clamping screws 21, The clampingscrews 26 and 21 may engage a flat surface portion of rod i0, such as 28, so that upon tightening them the electrode passageways in the guides and nozzle are aligned with one another and the passageways through guide 19 of the welding head.

The effective length of the nozzle extension may be adjusted by releasing these clamping screws, sliding rodiil through its support Ii to position nozzle 23 at the desired distance from the welding head, and then tightening clamping screw 26. Thereafter electrode guides 22 are spaced along rod I0 and clamping screws 21 are tightened to hold these guides in desired positions on this rod. Such an adjustment for decreasing the eifective length of the nozzle extension is shown in Fig. 2. The electrode guides are suflicient in number to prevent buckling of the electrode in its passage from the welding head to the electrode nozzle. In the arrangement illustrated three such guides have been employed.

Welding current is supplied to nozzle 23 by connecting the terminal 29 of a welding current cable against the front surface of support Ii through the agency of one of the bolts 13 by which this support is attached to the welding head Rod I0 is adapted to make a current conducting engagement with its support II and since nozzle 23 is directly attached to rod Ill through the agency of arm 24, welding current flows from terminal 29 of the, welding cable ture of an attachment which may be applied to any arc welding head. It need not of necessity embody the particular construction illustrated, since other arrangements will occur to those skilled in the art. For example, nozzle 23 and guides 22 may be independently supported and means maybe provided for moving them simultaneously toward and away from one another by amounts that results in a desired spacing of these members relative to one another when nozzle 23 is moved toward and from the welding head to adjust its spacing therefrom.

Various other arrangements and modifications will occur to those skilled in the art and I consequently intend in the appended claims to cover all such modifications and variations as fall within the true spirit and scope of my invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. An arc welding head comprising electrode feeding means, means for supplying welding cur rent to an electrode fed by said feeding means, means for adjusting and holding the spacing of said welding current supplying means and said feeding means, electrode guidingmeans spaced from said welding current supplying means and said feeding means, and means for adjusting and holding the spacing of said guiding means relative to said welding current supplying means and said feeding means.

2. An arc welding head comprising electrode feeding means, a support, a rod mounted for lengthwise movement in said support so that an end portion of said rod may be adjustably spaced from said feeding means, means for releasably clamping said rod in said support, an electrode nozzle attached to said end portion of said rod,

through support ll, rod l0, arm 24 and nozzle showing an adjustment in which arm 24 has been swung through 180 to provide a maximum lateral displacement of the arcing terminal of the electrode. Guides 22 have each been swung about rod l0 so that they are angularly spaced from one another by equal amounts to guide the electrode in its passage from the welding head to nozzle 23. Other adjustments between that illustrated in Fig. 1 and that illustrated in Fig. 2 are of course apparent.

The adjustable nozzle extension is in the naan electrode guide spaced from said nozzle and said feeding means and mounted for movement along said rod, and means for releasably clamping said guide to said rod,

3. An arc welding head comprising electrode feeding means, a support, a rod mounted for rotary and lengthwise movement in said support so that said rod may be rotated and an end portion thereof adjustably spaced from said feeding means, means for releasably clamping said rod in said support. an electrode nozzle attached to said end portion of said rod, an electrode guide spaced from said nozzle and said feeding means and mounted for movement along and around said rod, and means for releasably clamping said guide to said rod.

4. An arc welding head comprising electrode feeding means, a current conducting support, means for electrically insulating said support from said feeding means, a current conducting rod mounted for lengthwise movement in said support and adapted to make a current conducting engagement therewith, means for releasably clamping said rod in said support, an electrode nozzle attached by a current conducting connection to said rod, means for supplying welding current to said support and thereby through said rod to said nozzle. an electrode guide spaced from said support and said nozzle and mounted on said rod for movement lengthwise thereof, and means for releasably clamping said guide to said rod.

5. An adjustable nozzle extension for are welding heads comprising a support, a rod mounted for lengthwise movement in said support, means for releasably clamping said rod in said support, an electrode nozzle attached to said rod, an electrode guide spaced from said support and said nozzle and mounted on said rod for movement rod, an electrode guide spaced from said support; and said nozme and mounted on said rod for movement; around and lengthwise thereof. and means for releasably clamping said guide to said 6 rod.

VERNE J. CHAPMAN. 

